Music is an important component of worship in churches. It is normally used by priests and the choir to preach the word of God through praises and during worship. The role of music in church is derived from the Bible. It has been used for religious reasons since the times of King David. For example, the book of Psalms is still important to churches today (Smith 27). Music serves different purposes in Christianity. Moreover, is an important tool of worship in the Christian faith. The use of music in churches is common during service as both the priest and the Congregation participate actively in the singing related activities. They use the harmony of sounds to feel closer to and worship God during sacred ceremonies.
One Sunday, my friends asked me to join him for a church service in one of the local churches. This was an interesting day for the Anglican church, which was the church my friend belonged to. This date was known as music Sunday. It is designated by the church to celebrate music as a form of worship by the believers. This was a unique experience for me since, having been brought up in a Buddhist family, it was my first time in an actual church. The events on that day were dedicated to celebrating music by praising and worshiping God. People gathered with the intent to feel their connection to God through tunes and singing. On this day, people who attended the church service demonstrated their support for music. Additionally, there was a popular gospel artiste who had been invited to the church to entertain the worshipers during the church service for this occasion. These circumstances gave me a chance to learn more about the role of music in religion as music Sunday was a day to promote music as a form of worship.
Music played an important part in the church service. From the start, before any of the rites began, there were musical instruments playing with the members of the praise and worship teams entertaining the congregation that was waiting for the church service to commence. The sermon then later began with the arrival of the clergy who were accompanied by the church choir. They were singing hymnals as they entered the church. As service started, there were praise and worship sessions which mainly involved singing, dancing, and praising God. There was also a session during which music was played as people were deeply engaged in worship. Music also featured prominently during the church service stage when the leader of the service led people into a prayer. This was done according to the doctrine of the Anglican church. It was because of the rules of the faith that there was a prayer book used by the worshipers in their church routine.
Music was also played by the choir during the period when people gave offerings as well as during the Holy Communion session. There were two groups that led the musical sessions of the church service. There was a group called the praise and worship team and there was another group known as the choir. The praise and worship team played their music using various instrumentals such as guitars and the piano while the choir mainly used drums and sung from the Hymnbook (Boyce 146). The choir was mainly involved in liturgical worship led by the clergy and sang specific songs that were chosen by the leaders of the service. These sessions brought members of the congregation togather as they joined the priest in specific praises and responses.
The two teams both played their roles in the service by alternating in how they were involved. The choir was mainly involved in singing during the worship session that was derived from the liturgical worship book. They were led by the priest. The choir had a style of singing which involved the use of polyphonic composition. This type of melodies uses different rhythms and melodies to create harmonic sounds that unique and that follow the Anglican doctrine of worship.
The music was a fundamental part of the religious event since the better part of it was about worship. It was highly connected to the traditions of the Anglican Church. Most of the worship was done through a designated method of devotional rite in which the choir is deeply involved. The praise and worship team led the session in which most of the music was played using various instruments and in which the worshipers were entertained through sacred music. Most of the major activities done during the service were accompanied by music. Some of these key activities were accompanied either by music from the choir or from the parse and worship team and included offerings, Holy Communion, prayers, etc.
The use of music enhanced the worship experience in a significant way as most of the worshipers could b